Two-time Grammy Award nominee for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for 40@40 (2024) and Confessions (2022), Laura Strickling was recognized by The New York Times for her “flexible voice, crystalline diction, and warm presence.” Celebrated for her work performing and promoting art song, with an emphasis on new additions to the canon through her landmark 40@40 Project song commissioning initiative, she is the co-host of SongCycle — a podcast covering all things song, curated the NewMusicShelf Soprano Anthology, and has performed recitals and presented masterclasses and lectures with chamber music organizations, music festivals and universities around the world. She was granted NewMusicUSA Creator Fund awards in 2024 and 2026. 

Equally acclaimed for her work on the concert stage, her “powerful and expressive voice across a large range, her variety of timbre and character” (Classical Scene) make her a welcome guest soloist for a range of oratorio, concert and chamber works, from Bach to Britten and beyond. Her solo appearances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Knoxville Symphony, San Antonio Philharmonic and Rockville Symphony; Grieg’s Peer Gynt with Elgin Symphony; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Seattle Symphony, Knoxville Symphony and Elgin Symphony; Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras with the San Antonio Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with the Indianapolis Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Knoxville Symphony and Syracuse Symphony; Poulenc’s Gloria with Asheville Symphony; Fauré’s Requiem with Elgin Symphony; Mozart’s C Minor Mass with Richmond Symphony, Cathedral Choral Society and Berkshire Choral International; Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Norwalk Symphony and Mexicoliederfest; Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate with Cathedral Choral Society; Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Mendelssohn’s Elijah andVaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony with Berkshire Choral Festival; Menotti’s Missa “O Pulchritudo” and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee; Sibelius’ Luonnotar and Britten’s Les Illuminations with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra; and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the Chiarina Chamber Players and Picosa. 

Hailed by Opera News Magazine as “… a compellingly honest performer, whose rich, expressive soprano conveys vulnerability with a balance of shimmering tone and unaffected diction,” Laura Strickling created the role of Fanni Radnòti in the world premiere of Tom Cipullo’s opera The Parting with Music of Remembrance in Seattle and San Francisco, and she revisited the role with Chelsea Opera in Syracuse and New York City. She was praised for the Naxos Opera Classics recording of The Parting: “… deeply expressive, secure voice. Her exposed highs are managed wonderfully, with notable beauty” (San Francisco Classical Voice). She also created the role of the evil Dr. Slade in the nine-episode filmed opera Everything for Dawn, with Experiments in Opera, which premiered in collaboration with AllArts.org and Philadelphia Opera.

A Chicago native, Strickling is an avid traveler, having lived in Fez (Morocco), Kabul (Afghanistan) and, for the past nine years, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She recently relocated to Wisconsin, where she is learning to appreciate cheese, beer and being cold. laurastrickling.com